When Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album 1989 was released in 2014, it became a smash hit. After debuting as a country artist, Swift released 1989 as a full-fledged pop album, redefining her genre and style forever. Hits like Bad Blood, Shake It Off, Blank Space, and more were featured on the album, making it one of Swift’s most popular to date. This album is beloved by both fans and non-fans alike, so when the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was announced during her final Eras Tour stop of her first leg of the tour, the notice of the album release created a buzz all over the world. The album was released October 27th, with 5 vault tracks and one deluxe track (Bad Blood ft. Kendrick Lamar).
Something that fans have brought up as Swift goes back and re-records her main singles is that something is always a little off about them. For this album, people on social media have been making noise about how New Romantics (Taylor’s Version) and Style (Taylor’s Version) both sound different from the original tracks. After listening to both versions, there’s some truth to these claims. There’s something about the original backing track and the way Taylor sang the original version of Style that really resonates with fans. This time around, it’s almost less enthusiastic and there’s little to no emotion in her voice, especially in the chorus.
The vault tracks begin with Slut! which is an airy pop ballad. It talks about not caring what people say about you for being in a relationship. Swift uses soft drums and synthesizers in the instrumental to give the song life. The lyrics go in depth about Swift being criticized for being in a public relationship but not caring what people think because it is worth it to her with the lyrics “And if they call me a slut / You know it might be worth it for once.” The song from an outside glance could be perceived as a risky song but if you actually listen to it it holds a deeper meaning. It’s about a girl who is criticized for every relationship she’s been in, but for once that criticism is all worth it to her.
The second vault track, Say Don’t Go presents a relationship in which somebody abruptly left her and she doesn’t understand why. The main chorus renders, “Why’d you have to lead me on? / Why’d you have to twist the knife? / Walk away and leave me bleedin’, bleedin’?” This theme continues with the lyric “I said, “I love you” / You say nothin’ back.” These verses give the impression that the person this song is about only wanted something short with her. So when it became clear to him that she wanted more than that, he ditched her. Like many of Swift’s tracks, the song touched teenage girls everywhere with lots of people taking to social media to express the relatability of the song.
Now That We Don’t Talk is the third vault track. This song has been compared to Maroon, a track off of Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights. Swift sings about not talking to a person anymore and what’s left of the relationship now. Beginning with lyrics about hearing about said person’s life now and not knowing them anymore, it also addresses changes about the person and wishing they used to be the same. But deep down, Swift knows it wasn’t going to work out and that the relationship’s end was for the best. Throughout the song you hear her reminiscing then reminding herself that it wasn’t a good relationship and she’s better off alone.
The fourth vault track is titled Suburban Legends. The writing in this track is akin to the style of story-like writing Swift utilizes notably on albums like folklore and Midnights. The song tells the story of a high school romance that Swift thought would be the stuff of “suburban legends,” but the relationship went south. This song shows the talent Swift has for painting a picture for her listeners to visualize describing things like a “1950s gymnasium” in this track.
The fifth and final vault track, Is It Over Now?, is a bit like a sequel to the track Out of the Woods, which appeared on the original 1989. This song is presumably about waiting to finally end an on-again-off-again type of relationship. Swift’s delivery in this song is incredible with lyrics like “You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor” and “Your new girl is my clone.” This is the perfect last track for 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Swift has the final word here and she executes it flawlessly.
All in all, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) definitely met the high expectations that were set for it. Every vault track is very promising and really showcases Swift’s growth from 2014 to now. For anyone wishing to relive the pop music days of the 2010’s, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) brings both the nostalgia and excitement from Swift’s first ever fully pop album.
